A LEADING Newtownards trader has started his own counter-campaign, flipping the ‘don’t shop’ message on its head.
Chief of the town’s chamber of commerce, Derek Wright, launched his own ‘Buy Something New Month’ drive in his clothes shop Street Life this week – and the initiative has already spread to several other stores in the heart of Newtownards.
Bearing branding that parodies Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful’s controversial campaign, Mr Wright hopes that his drive will spur purchases around the town to help carry traders through the troublesome post-Christmas trading time.
“January is always the most difficult month in retail,” he said, “but there are good bargains to be had.
“I wanted to let people know what they can find in their town centre, and that we are open for business.
“What happened last week could have been very damaging – no retailer wants to see the council tell people not to shop. I want to reverse that, to turn into something positive.”
Mr Wright believes the Buy Nothing New challenge is misguided, and he was particularly aggrieved to see it get what appeared to be the official backing of Ards and North Down Council.
“Yes, if no one bought anything then there would be less waste, but retailers all around the borough would be in serious trouble,” he says.
“We need the support of our customers to keep going, in this economy more than ever; if people listened to campaigns like that, we wouldn’t be here.
“Besides, it is possible to make purchases that can benefit the environment; for example, I’ve just bought a new washing machine that saves 60% on energy compared to my last model.”
Newtownards Chamber of Commerce officially complained about last week’s social media post from the council, sending their shock and upset directly to the local authority’s chief executive, Stephen Reid.
“I’m glad to say they acted and the post was removed,” says Mr Wright.
“We just spent several months successfully working with the council on a ‘shop local’ campaign, hoping to help out bricks and mortar retailers in our towns and villages.
“To see them turn on their heels and send out a message saying buy nothing; well, we were very alarmed. It’s anti-business and anti-retail.”
Fortunately for town centre traders, the council’s messaging appears to have had the opposite effect than intended.
Says Mr Wright: “Last weekend we had incredibly good footfall – we even had people come down from Belfast to shop with us, they were so disgusted with the council telling people not to buy anything.”
